Getting out of paying tips

[lovetotravel700001]

wait a minute, isn't there a dress code? why discourage these people from having the good manners to follow the dress code? and how do you know no one will care? We care, not so much about the clothes itself, but what not following the code says to your fellow passengers, ie I only care about myself.

 

I don't necessarily like wearing a tie to work every day, but it's not about me, it's sbout others.

 

so please don't speak for everyone, thanks.

 

Bless your heart Ryano and also the above poster. I have already had this discussion with other CC members and it got quite heated. I relayed it to my husband who thought about it and really does not want to pack his dress shoes or long pants of any kind, not even jeans. Fine with me. We will just live in tshirts, shorts and swimsuits for the week. I am actually taking all my oldest clothes with me and will discard them before we pack. Hopefully we will be able to fit one suitcase inside the other and pay for only one luggage valet charge and one checked bag charge.

[ryano]

The poster you are quoting said their husband wanted to "be completely casual", not "go completely casual". The WJ is a casual dining experience in many ways other than the clothing context you immediately assumed and then made this yet another dress code thread :D

 

I didnt assume anything.

 

In another thread, the OP said her husband did not want to wear khakis and dress shoes to dinner so they would be dining in the Windjammer for the whole cruise.

 

I will not waste my time today arguing with the fashion police on this board though. The fact of the matter is, RCI does not have a dress CODE and is relaxing their dress SUGGESTION more and more every week. The waiters are now telling people not to worry about "dressing up" and to come as they are to dinner in the main dining room.

 

I was just telling the OP that they are paying for the MDR so they might as well use it.

 

Also FWIW, I abide by the SUGGESTION and wear a tux on formal night. I could not care less what others wear though as long as they wear something :cool:

 

You all carry on.

[ryano]

We will just live in tshirts, shorts and swimsuits for the week.

 

If thats the case then Im sure you both will enjoy the Windjammer :)

 

Now, back to the topic at hand lol. :p

[Dave & Mel]

Totally off base from the topic at hand but PLEASE dont avoid the MDR of an evening because your husband wants to go "completely casual"........Contrary to what you will read from certain people, he will be more than welcome in the MDR in casual clothes........Even in jeans. As long as he isnt wearing his bathing suit, he will be allowed in and no one in there will care what he is wearing.

 

In fact, your waiters in the MDR will reassure him that he doesnt have to "dress up" even on formal night and practically beg you both to come to dinner.

 

You are paying for it. You might as well enjoy it :)

You are so very wrong about nobody caring. I care. It is so frustrating to see people not having the common courtsey to follow the dress code in the dinning room. It's not like one has to dress in a tux on formal night, just a nice polo shirt and sport coat. Lose the coat as soon as dinner is over. As far as the rest of the nights, asking one not to wear cut offs and tee shirts to dinner is is the right thing to do.

[BecciBoo]

Before I say this, I want you to know that I do not feel this way and we ALWAYS tip. But in the rest of the world, "tipping" by it's definition,

a small present of money given directly to someone for performing a service or menial task; gratuity: He gave the waiter a dollar as a tip.

is money given for service above and beyond the service persons regular job. That is why some feel they should not be required to "tip"...unless they make that determination themselves. No one ever tipped me as a service person. Think of all the jobs in service where no one is ever tipped (your local garbage worker for instance). The reason we tip is because the service is good to better. The people who work the cruise industry are not paid very highly and need anything extra to send home in most cases. We have only not tipped on one occasion on 14 cruises and that was most warranted. The steward was negligent. We did not complain to his supervisor, he just did not get an envelope. Lately, though, we just do the prepay...convenience has it's points.

[temple1]

Before I say this, I want you to know that I do not feel this way and we ALWAYS tip. But in the rest of the world, "tipping" by it's definition,

a small present of money given directly to someone for performing a service or menial task; gratuity: He gave the waiter a dollar as a tip.

 

is money given for service above and beyond the service persons regular job. That is why some feel they should not be required to "tip"...unless they make that determination themselves. No one ever tipped me as a service person. Think of all the jobs in service where no one is ever tipped (your local garbage worker for instance). The reason we tip is because the service is good to better. The people who work the cruise industry are not paid very highly and need anything extra to send home in most cases. We have only not tipped on one occasion on 14 cruises and that was most warranted. The steward was negligent. We did not complain to his supervisor, he just did not get an envelope. Lately, though, we just do the prepay...convenience has it's points.

 

As you well know in many parts of the world all service people are paid a living wage by their employer and do not have to depend on the "kindness" of strangers to get the remainder of their wages. As a traditionally American thing (employer under paying and expecting the public to make up the difference) it has also translated to the cruise industry.

 

As long as people know it is expected - call it a service charge or anything you like - call it Robert, people should comply. What gets so many peoples' knickers in a knot over it is the words used - tip or gratuity. Just replace it with a completely random word because like many words in use today it no longer carries the original meaning.

[MrsPete]

I have several thoughts on this topic, some of which are contradictory:

 

 

1. I totally agree with all who say that accepting service all week long and failing to tip is just bad behavior. Lying about it -- if that's what the people in this story actually did -- is even worse.

 

2. I do think the cruise lines should go to a mandatory service fee, but I don't think they will do it: Why should they? It'd raise their prices, and right now the company has no liability -- it's the low-paid servers who take the risk that they might be working for free. As long as they're able to find good workers under the current system, they'll keep using it.

 

3. Having said that, I can't get my head around the server's reasoning:

After talking to our server, he said it's highly unlikely that their stateroom attendant (let alone anyone else) stole money from their stateroom. He said that every inch of the hallways are on camera and that they can match the time stamp on the video to the time Seapasses are used to enter a room and it's virtually impossible for any employee from getting away with stealing from guests. What's sad is that he said it's common for people who cruise nowdays to either come up with elaborate stories to get out of tipping or they just don't show up on the last night altogether. This must have been the case in this situation as the couple never tipped our server after a week of service.

How does a camera in the hallway prove that the attendant did/didn't steal inside the room? It would prove he was in the room -- duh, he's supposed to be in the room -- but it doesn't prove whether the passenger ever had cash money in the first place. IF he did it, it might prove that he did it during the course of his regular work and that he didn't make a special trip, but that's not proof at all.

 

Don't get me wrong: I do not think that the staff is out to steal our stuff, but I don't buy this particular argument.

 

4. Is it possible that the steward thought this cash money was his tip? It'd be interesting (though probably impossible) to learn just where it was supposedly left in the room. If it was left on the pillow on the last night, I can imagine the steward thinking it was meant for him.

 

5. Yes, the staff work awfully hard, I appreciate their service, and I always tip generously . . . but I've also noticed a plethora of sob stories on the last night of the cruise. It seems that every steward I've ever had has a daughter just the age of mine back home, and he hasn't seen her in X amount of time. The wait staff show pictures of their families occasionally, always just before it's time to fill out their evaulations. The point: I think they lay it on thick at the end of the cruise. It's possible that the MDR staff were exaggerating the number of people who stiff the crew.

You are so very wrong about nobody caring. I care. It is so frustrating to see people not having the common courtsey to follow the dress code in the dinning room. It's not like one has to dress in a tux on formal night, just a nice polo shirt and sport coat. Lose the coat as soon as dinner is over. As far as the rest of the nights, asking one not to wear cut offs and tee shirts to dinner is is the right thing to do.

I'll chime in here too: The MDR is supposed to be a dressy place at dinner. Being among other people who've taken the time to look their best is part of the atmosphere. If you don't want to dress for dinner, FINE -- that's your own business, but do consider the other dining choices.

[Desertbelle]

Am I the only one who is a little taken aback by the original poster and the waiter gossiping about another passenger? If I thought for one second that a waiter was talking about me to other people I would be very upset! Might skip tipping!

 

I have heard of other people on CC telling of similar discussions with waiters and stewards about other passengers and this is very disturbing to me. I would hope my cruise staff would be very discrete and keep my business private. Also, I would be very uncomfortable with a staff member discussing their income with me. Can you imagine the cashier at the grocery store or your bank teller telling you about their income and how much money your neighbor has in the bank or how much booze they buy??

 

If a waiter even started to gossip about another passenger to me I would stop him and remind him how rude it was.

[kingsgirl]

I want to chime in.....

 

but I don't think I can handle the fight to follow. :D

[Yellowfurbaby]

I think its nobody's business if people tip or don't tip. I also think it was rude for the staff member to be discussing this with a fellow guest. It is up to each guest to decide to tip or not and to decide how much to tip. If someone decides not to tip then they may have their reasons. Or maybe they just are mean. Either way tips although obviously greatly encouraged are not compulsory. In fact rather than all this silliness regarding tips I am sure it would be better for staff and passengers for the company to pay staff a decent wage and if neccasary add that to the price of the cruise. That way noone could get out of anything and staff would receive a decent living. It would also help staff who work with non Americans who may not tip as generously. I find the whole thing hard to swallow. It shouldn't be up to me to pay or the couple involved to pay that waiters salary it is upto Royal Carribean. Maybe he should be moaning to them!

[Ocean Boy]

So glad you understand how the system works...now if everyone understood we would have no tipping threads since its all pretty simple.

 

Haven't cruised RCCL in awhile..just curious how could the WJ staff servers be tipped directly? I don't see how you could get the same WJ waitstaff every time you visited. Are they assigned certain sections on a weekly basis?

 

We eat dinner in the Windjammer. We sit in the same section every evening and have had the same wait staff each evening. We have also tipped these folks at the end of the week. And yes, the same staff is assigned to the same section all week.

[Ocean Boy]

wait a minute, isn't there a dress code? why discourage these people from having the good manners to follow the dress code? and how do you know no one will care? We care, not so much about the clothes itself, but what not following the code says to your fellow passengers, ie I only care about myself.

 

I don't necessarily like wearing a tie to work every day, but it's not about me, it's sbout others.

 

so please don't speak for everyone, thanks.

 

I am just curious as to what type of doctor that Dr. D is? My hospital has asked the medical staff to refrain from wearing ties and they have been idenfitied as fomites.